North American Pet Health Insurance Market Surpassed $1.71B (USD) in 2019

The North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA) today reported that North America’s pet health insurance sector reached $1.717 billion (USD) in 2019.

The 2019 results, included in NAPHIA’s 2020 State of the Industry Report, mark another milestone year for the industry that saw a 21% improvement over its 2018 performance of $1.42 billion (USD).

“Last year, over 2.81 million pets were insured across North America, which represents a 16% increase over 2018,” said Kristen Lynch, Executive Director of NAPHIA. “These results show another year of strong growth in the pet insurance marketplace, and further evidence that an increasing number of pet owners are recognizing the value of insuring their pets.”  

This year’s findings show total premium volume* in the U.S. amounted to $1.56 billion (USD) in 2019, a 24.3% annual increase over 2018. In Canada, total premium volume* totalled $159 million USD ($208.6 million CAD), an increase of 16.4% over the previous year.

“Over the past five years, our industry has experienced double-digit increases, with the U.S. average annual growth rate coming in at 22.6%, while Canada’s annual growth rate was 15.4%,” said Rick Faucher, President of NAPHIA’s Board of Directors. “All indicators point to continued growth in our sector even in 2020, despite some of the covid-related challenges our market and others continue to face.”

NAPHIA’s State of the Industry Report has been published annually since 2011, using data compiled, aggregated and validated by the global multinational risk management and advisory firm Willis Towers Watson. This year, for the first time, the data will become a permanent feature of NAPHIA’s website, where media, industry members and interested parties can access the data directly.

To view the results visit: https://naphia.org/about-the-industry/

* As reported by NAPHIA members

Some 2019 Industry Highlights:

U.S.

  • $1.56 billion USD – total premium volume
  • 2,517,122 – total number of pets insured
  • 83% of insured pets were dogs versus 17% cats
  • the average accident and illness premium for dogs was $585.40/year or $48.78/month (figures in USD)
  • the average accident and illness premium for cats was $349.93/year or $29.16/month (figures in USD)

Canada

  • $159 million USD – total premium volume ($208.6 million CAD)
  • 302,424 – total number of pets insured
  • 78% of insured pets were dogs versus 22% cats
  • the average accident and illness premium for dogs was $747.77/year or $62.31/month (all figures in CAD)
  • the average accident and illness premium for cats was $386.08/year or $32.17/month (all figures in CAD)

About NAPHIA

The North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA) is comprised of reputable pet health insurance organizations from across Canada and the United States. As a coalition, NAPHIA works to advance and grow the pet insurance industry and marketplace through proactive research, data sharing, benchmarking initiatives, advocacy efforts, strategic partnerships, resource sharing and the dissemination of information to collaboratively address challenges and opportunities.